Exclusivity Policy

Overview

Authors choose Exclusive or Non-Exclusive for each individual Item. Exclusivity applies only to the specific Item you select and does not apply to your account, other Items, or future products. You may have a mix of Exclusive and Non-Exclusive Items at the same time. Exclusivity may affect author fees, commission tiers, promotional eligibility, and listing visibility, and can be changed prospectively through your dashboard, subject to the rules below.

1) Scope & definitions

This policy forms part of the Author / Seller Terms and applies globally. Capitalized terms have the meanings given in the Terms. In addition, the following definitions apply:

• Item: A specific product listing on SprukoMarket, including its files, assets, source code, design elements, documentation, metadata, demos, and associated SKU.
• Exclusive Item: An Item you choose to license only through SprukoMarket during its exclusive period.
• Non-Exclusive Item: An Item you may license or distribute through SprukoMarket and other permitted channels.
• Substantially Similar: An offering that, viewed reasonably, provides the same or near-identical end-product value, features, files, assets, structure, design, workflows, or commercial purpose to the same or a substantially similar audience, even if presented under a different name, branding, technology stack, or minor variation.
• Related Item: Any item that appears to buyers to belong to the same product family, series, brand line, or commercial product concept, including versions that are renamed, lightly modified, ported, reskinned, or repackaged.
• No restriction on skills or knowledge: Nothing in this policy restricts your ability to use your general skills, knowledge, ideas, experience, or techniques to create new and genuinely different products.

2) Your choices: Exclusive vs Non-Exclusive

• Exclusive: You must not list, sell, license, distribute, give away, or otherwise make available the Exclusive Item, any Related Item, or any Substantially Similar version of it outside SprukoMarket during the exclusive period. Exclusive status may make the Item eligible for different author fees, commission rates, promotional opportunities, badges, or visibility benefits.
• Non-Exclusive: You may list, sell, license, or distribute the Item through other marketplaces, your own website, or other channels, subject to applicable marketplace rules and law.

Duration. Exclusivity applies from the time you set an Item to Exclusive in your dashboard and continues until a valid switch to Non-Exclusive becomes effective under Section 4. Exclusivity is prospective only and is not retroactive.

Grandfathering. Changing an Item’s status does not affect licenses already granted to Buyers, amounts previously paid, or historical author fees, commission, or earnings already earned or recorded.

3) Where you may sell

Clarification: The following are generally allowed and do not break exclusivity, provided they do not distribute the same files, assets, or substantially similar buyer value of the Exclusive Item:

• Custom client work that is not redistributed or sold as the same Item
• Hosted SaaS, API, or online tools that do not provide access to the Item’s files or assets and do not function as a substitute for the Item
• Use of your general skills, ideas, knowledge, or techniques to build new and genuinely different products
• Open-source dependencies or third-party components distributed in accordance with their own licenses
• Limited, non-substitutable promotional materials such as watermarked screenshots, short videos, or a very small number of demo assets used only for marketing

Not allowed: Any method that allows a buyer, client, or third party to obtain the same files, assets, features, structure, or substantially similar value of the Exclusive Item outside SprukoMarket, even if renamed, repackaged, lightly modified, bundled, ported, or privately delivered.

4) Switching status (prospective only)

• How: You may change an Item’s status through your dashboard at any time. Changes apply prospectively only and do not affect past sales, historical licenses, or previously earned commission.
• Effective delay: When switching an Item from Exclusive to Non-Exclusive, a delay of up to 30 days may apply before the new status becomes effective. During that period, the Item continues to be treated as Exclusive.
• No bypass during waiting period: You must not list, sell, distribute, or prepare off-platform availability for the Item, a Related Item, or a Substantially Similar version during the waiting period.
• Abuse prevention: Repeated switching between Exclusive and Non-Exclusive status to bypass marketplace rules, distribution restrictions, review standards, or fee or commission benefits is strictly prohibited and may result in Item restrictions or account action.
• No retroactive effect: Changing status does not modify existing Buyer licenses, completed transactions, or previously earned commission.
• History: Status history may be stored and used internally for compliance, billing, moderation, fraud prevention, and support purposes.

5) Derivatives, forks & “Substantially Similar”

Factor-based review. We assess whether another offering is a Related Item or Substantially Similar based on the overall balance of relevant factors, which may include: (a) overlap in files, assets, code, layouts, or structure; (b) feature parity or materially similar buyer value; (c) similarity in demo, user flow, or interface experience; (d) similarity in documentation, packaging, branding, or positioning; (e) overlap in audience, category, or intended use case; and (f) timing or development signals suggesting a clone, port, fork, re-skin, or lightly modified derivative. No single factor is determinative.

Reasonable determination. Determinations of whether an offering is Related or “Substantially Similar” are made by SprukoMarket acting reasonably, in good faith, and based on the information and evidence available at the time of review.

Clear rule for authors: If a reasonable buyer would consider two products the same, closely related, interchangeable, or a replacement for one another, they may be treated as Related or Substantially Similar and are not allowed outside SprukoMarket when the Item is Exclusive.

Author explanation. On request, you agree to provide a reasonable comparison summary or other supporting information explaining why an off-platform or related product is materially different from the Exclusive Item.

Generally not considered Substantially Similar: (i) a genuinely new product with materially different scope, assets, implementation, buyer value, and use case; (ii) private custom client work that is not publicly marketed or commercially distributed as the same product; and (iii) open-source components distributed in accordance with their applicable licenses.

6) Author fees, commission & promotions

• Author fees, commission rates, exclusivity benefits, and related incentives are described in the applicable Author Fees article and may vary by category, program, promotion, or marketplace rules.
• Exclusive Items may receive preferential consideration for promotions, placements, or visibility opportunities, but no promotional placement is guaranteed.
• If you change an Item’s status, any resulting fee, commission, or program changes apply only from the effective timestamp going forward and do not retroactively alter prior earnings.

7) Migration, bundles, rebrands & naming

• Bundles: If an Exclusive Item is included in an off-platform bundle, pack, collection, membership, or access package that gives buyers access to the same or materially similar files, assets, features, or value of the Exclusive Item, that bundle may be treated as a violation.
• Rebrands and renaming: Renaming, minor visual changes, minor structural edits, color changes, framework conversion, or superficial reskinning do not avoid exclusivity obligations.
• Naming confusion: You must not use names, thumbnails, branding, demo domains, or marketing language outside SprukoMarket in a way that is likely to mislead buyers into believing an off-platform product is different when it is actually the same, related, or substantially similar.
• New SKU requirement: If you want to create a meaningfully different, non-exclusive product from existing work, you should create a new SKU with materially different scope, content, implementation, and value and must not copy reviews, ratings, product identity, or marketplace signals in a misleading way.

8) Disclosures & listing display

• We may display an “Exclusive” or “Non-Exclusive” badge on the Item page.
• Authors must ensure that Item pages, documentation, demos, and related statements are accurate and do not imply broader rights or platform commitments than the selected status actually provides.

9) Compliance checks, affiliates & evidence

• We may request reasonable information to verify exclusivity, including URLs, storefront names, screenshots, source comparisons, public listings, order pages, product comparisons, timelines, or similar evidence.
• Affiliates & managed brands: If you control, operate, manage, or materially influence other brands, storefronts, entities, publishing channels, or accounts, you must ensure that an Exclusive Item, Related Item, or Substantially Similar version of it is not distributed outside SprukoMarket through those channels.
• Failure to cooperate with a reasonable compliance request may result in temporary listing restrictions, status changes, review holds, withheld promotion, or other proportionate measures.

10) Breach, remedies, corrections & appeals

• Strict enforcement: Publishing, distributing, licensing, giving away, or otherwise making available the same, Related, or Substantially Similar Item on another platform while marked as Exclusive is considered a serious violation.
• Proportionate remedies: If we reasonably determine that exclusivity has been misrepresented or breached, we may take proportionate actions such as removing the Exclusive badge, reclassifying the Item to Non-Exclusive, adjusting commission, limiting promotional placement, temporarily suspending the listing, removing the Item, or applying other actions in accordance with the Conduct and Termination sections of the Author / Seller Terms.
• Commission correction window: If exclusivity was incorrectly claimed or maintained, we may apply the Non-Exclusive commission rate for the verified breach period only, starting no earlier than the period reasonably supported by evidence, and reflect any adjustment in a future statement or settlement cycle.
• Repeated violations: Repeated attempts to bypass exclusivity rules, including minor modifications, re-uploads, alternate branding, alternate accounts, managed brands, or indirect distribution, may result in permanent removal of affected Items or account-level action, including suspension or termination where permitted under the Terms.
• Reinstatement: After curing a breach and providing supporting evidence, you may request reinstatement of Exclusive status. Reinstatement decisions are made at our discretion based on the circumstances, evidence, and compliance history.
• Appeals: You may appeal an exclusivity decision within 14 days of notice by providing relevant supporting information such as URLs, screenshots, diffs, timelines, product comparisons, or a comparison summary. We aim to review appeals within 15 business days, although timing may vary depending on case complexity.

11) Practical examples

If a hosted or off-platform offering exposes the same source files, assets, templates, downloadable materials, or materially equivalent buyer value, it may be treated as Related or Substantially Similar.

12) Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. Material changes will be posted with the Last revised date and, where appropriate, may also be communicated through your dashboard or other platform notices.

If you do not agree with an updated version of this policy, you may change your Item status to Non-Exclusive in accordance with this policy or discontinue using SprukoMarket as an author.

For additional guidance and support, please visit the SprukoMarket Help Center.